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Romans 9-16

Applying Righteousness: Towards Others/Everyday

Justin Dean · Sunday, 2 November 2025 · Romans 12:9-21 · 41:45 · 6,485 words

Romans S28 · 12:9-21 Davison

There is no public page for this message yet — the transcript below is the whole of it.

Pastor Justin Dean opens with a personal story about losing sleep with his teething daughter, then shifts to a study of Romans 12:9‑21. He argues that the transformation God calls believers to is lived out through disciplined love—loving sincerely when it is easy and especially when it is hard, pursuing peace instead of revenge, and caring for enemies. He challenges listeners to examine what must change in their habits, relationships, and thoughts so they can demonstrate Christ’s love this week.

What this sermon is about

Ranked by keyness against every other sermon in the corpus. Each one is a word this sermon actually said — nothing here was written by a model.

discipline 28 love 93 transformation 19 contrary 14 demonstrate 11 compromise 7 respect 10 mourn 7 easy 15 incredibly 7 difficult 13 hungry 6

Topics

Sanctification 4 Prayer 3 Atonement & Sacrifice 2 Salvation 2 Grace 1 Faith 1

Scripture referenced 24

Verified against the transcript. A reference the recording does not support is never listed here.

Romans 12 1:36 Romans 11 2:30 Romans 12 2:38 Romans 12 2:38 Romans 11 2:48 Romans 12 2:59 Romans 12 3:23 Romans 12 5:31 Romans 12:9 5:31 Romans 12:9-21 6:32 Romans 12:9-21 7:32 Romans 10 17:16 Romans 10:14 17:40 Romans 10:14 17:40 Romans 10:15 19:37 Romans 10:16 22:33 Romans 10:17 23:55 Romans 10:18 23:55 Romans 10:18-1 28:47 Romans 10:18 30:17 Romans 10:18 30:42 Romans 10:18 32:01 Romans 12 32:39 Romans 12 39:57

Transcript

Every word, as spoken, with the second it was said. Each word links to its own entry in the index.

morning, River Church. You guys are all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed with an extra hour of sleep. I

love it. Last night, my daughter is currently teething. She has a new tooth coming in, and so

I was, of course, up at around one in the morning with her, trying to get her to go back to sleep,

and by the time I made it back to sleep, I was like, looked at my phone, right, to make sure my

alarms were set, and it was one in the morning again, and I was like, am I in the twilight zone?

Like, I swore I could have woke up at one in the morning, and now it's one in the morning again,

and then I realized, oh, there went my extra hour of sleep. But for those of you who don't know me,

my name is Pastor Justin Dean. I am the, I am the, I almost said recovery pastor. I am the

location pastor here at the River Church Davidson. I'm also the recovery pastor, but that's not

my hat this morning, and very thankful that you're here. I know maybe some of you are wondering,

why didn't we do announcements in between those songs?

But then you saw the baptismal, and you can know it's a nice, cool 45 degrees, ready for Mark after

the gathering. And so those of you who don't know, we had our trunk or treat competition, and whoever

lost has to take an ice bath this morning while the other gives announcements. So that'll be

happening at the end, so you can be looking forward to that. But in the meantime, we're

going to be jumping into Romans together. So if you have your Bibles, I hope that you have your

Bibles with you this morning. Open up to Romans chapter 12. If you don't have a Bible, there are

Bibles back at guest services. You are more than welcome to take it and take it home. They are

donated for us to give out for free. We want you to have God's Word. If you have a device, open up

your device, download a Bible app, and jump into God's Word with us this morning. So as we've been

going through Romans, I believe, so I was kind of trying to backtrack and count the number of weeks

we've been in Romans. I believe, if my count is correct, this is week 25 in Romans. So we have

been in Romans for a minute.

And some of you are, are like, really ADD, and you are like, hey, let's get to some other portion

of Scripture. Me, I am usually ADD, but for this purpose, preaching through it, I'm like, man, we

could have been here for 35, 40 weeks, right? Because it is just so jam-packed with good stuff,

right? And so a couple weeks ago, when we were finishing up Romans chapter 11, going into Romans

chapter 12, you see at the beginning of Romans chapter 12,

he talks about this transformation that happens in the life of believers. And he says that the

reason for that is the mercies of God, which he talks about at the end of chapter 11. And so we've

kind of been talking about, he lays that out as his, kind of his broad general statement to continue

to dive into over the course of Romans chapter 12. And so there he says, hey, I appeal to you

brothers by the mercies of God to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable

to God, which is your spiritual worship. You don't be conformed to this world, but be transformed

by the renewal of your mind. And so these last several weeks, as we've been going through the

rest of chapter 12, Paul talks about the realities of that. He says, okay, here is your call to give

yourself as a living sacrifice, which means living differently than the world would typically have

you live, right? You have to give up that which would normally happen, a pursuit of anything other

than God, and give yourself to a pursuit of God. And that leads to a radical transformation in your

life. And that's a good thing. Paul says that's a great thing, actually, because who you were and

who you were destined to be was separated from God and dead, eternally in hell. And then he says,

but this is what that transformation looks like. And so last week I talked about how there is

really two parts to this transformation that Paul talks about. He talks about a

personal transformation, which we're going to talk about this morning. But last week he talked about

a corporate transformation, that we as the church should look different than any other group of

people. That we should look different than corporations. We should look different than

businesses. We should look different than clubs and just other people who get together on weekends.

That we should be transformed as a people. And that transformation looks like a couple different

things. And so if you missed that, I'm going to show you how to do that. And I'm going to show you

I would encourage you to go back and listen. You can find those on our website. And the reason for

that is because if you missed it, we talked about how we should look together as a church. And so my

heart for you is that you would come and be transformed along with us. And what that looks

like, we're going to really dive into this week a little bit more. This idea of how this

transformation looks on an individual and personal level. So we talked about, hey, these are the

things that we're striving for as a church, as a body of Christ. And here's things that we can do

together. And these things together really begin to take shape as we begin to let that transformation

happen in our personal lives. And so this morning, we're going to look at a pretty large chunk of

scripture, specifically the rest of chapter 12, nine through to the end, verse nine through to

the end. But before we do, let's pray together and ask the Lord for wisdom and insight. Lord, I pray

that you would teach us this morning, that as we read your word, we would be transformed. Lord, we

ask for that which you tell us in your word to do, to be transformed, Lord. And we ask that you would

transform us through your word. That as we read your word, that we would be given understanding,

the truth of what your word tells us, and that we would be given wisdom, the ability to apply that

to live differently. Lord, I thank you so much for your word and the truth that it tells us.

Lord, I pray just for clarity and wisdom this morning, in your precious and holy name, Jesus' name,

amen. So I'll tell you right now, this is a very difficult passage. Because at first glance,

as you read verses nine through 21, which is the end of 12, you would take it as something that

the world is really proclaiming right now, to love people well. But the more that you read,

and the longer that you sit in the Bible, the more that you read, and the longer that you sit in the

in this chunk of scripture, you begin to read that it's actually very counter to how the world

tells us to love. The world tells us to love, but scripture says to love and to love specifically

when it's difficult. When it contradicts how you would normally respond. And society has told us

that we should treat people, specifically people who disagree with us, or who are our enemies,

or people who have wronged us.

And so we're going to read this passage, and we're going to read it in a certain way. And Paul, here in Romans,

tells us to treat people very different than that. And really, actually says, it's going to be different.

And so let's dive in. We're going to break it up into some chunks and talk about what this

transformation, specifically a devotion to love, looks like in our lives. Romans 12, 9 through 21

says this, love must be sincere. Hate what is evil. Cling to what is good. Be devoted to what is good.

To one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your

spiritual fervor serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope. Patient in affliction. Faithful in prayer.

And share with the Lord's people who are in need. Practice hospitality. So there's a lot of commands

there. There's a lot of encouragement to live differently there. But one of the things that I

think is consistent throughout that passage, or that chunk of 9 through 13, is Paul says,

transformation is living a life of disciplined love. Transformation is living a life of

disciplined love. All these things happen when you love people well. And it's a lot of times when

we talk about love, we talk about how it's so simple to love.

It's so easy to love, right? Just love people. Just love people, right? Like it's just some simple

thing that you can just kind of do. You just have to have a little bit of a mindset change.

And what Paul says here is, yeah, when it's someone you love, it's really easy to love them.

But when it isn't easy to love, that's when it gets incredibly difficult, right? When it's not

someone you love, when it's your enemy, when it's someone who isn't honoring you, it's really hard

to demonstrate love to them. And Paul says, when it's someone you love, it's really hard to demonstrate

love to them. And Paul says, when it's someone you love, it's really hard to demonstrate love to them.

And Paul says, that's when you need to love the most, right? And we think about some of those

ways that specifically says that, right? Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above

yourselves. There is a sense of giving, right? A giving of yourself more than you, contrary to you.

A lot of times when we think about love, it's, well, we'll love them if they love us. We'll respect

them if we're given respect. We'll honor them as long as they've earned our honor. And what Paul

is saying here is, no, no, no, no, no. You should be clinging to what is good. There is no caveats

here. There's no, you know, hey, little in between the lines. You know, hey, you only have to love

them when they're nice to you. You only have to love them when they're easy to love. He says, no,

in fact, be joyful in hope. Be patient in affliction.

Be faithful in prayer. Do these things when they are difficult. And really, he just puts this

emphasis, this is not our natural response, but it has to become our natural response. And that's

why I turn to that word discipline, right? That's why I turn to that word discipline. A lot of times

when we think about discipline, we don't like that word, right? Because discipline is most of the

time difficult and not fun. But when we think about discipline, we don't like that word, right?

Because discipline is most of the time difficult and not fun. But when we think about discipline,

we don't like that word, right? Because discipline is most of the time difficult and not fun. But when

you talk about that word discipline, what it means to do is retraining that which is normal for you,

right? To be disciplined is bringing that which is normal under control so that you can live

differently. And so here we have to be disciplined in love because we have to change

what is normal for us. What is normal for us is to love when it's easy and to hate when it's easy.

But instead, now we're called to love when it's easy and love

when it's not easy. There's a fantastic book by a guy by the name of Kent Hughes. It's called

Disciplines of a Godly Man. Men in the room, if you want a great book, buy that book and I will

walk through it with you. I'm walking through it with a couple guys right now. It's a fantastic

book. And he talks a lot about what discipline means for the godly man, but it's very important

for all people specifically. And one of the people that I'm talking about is a guy named Kent Hughes.

And one of the people that he brings up in the very first chapter is Steph Curry. If you don't know

Steph Curry, he's a legendary basketball player, the best shooter of all time. I will definitively

make that statement. If you want to argue about it, we can argue after. And so he is just this

fantastic three-point shooter. And I've always been just incredibly jealous of him. I remember

there was one time in college, my roommate and I were sitting down, we were watching this game

and at halftime, he just, it literally just looks like,

he throws the ball randomly and it hits and he scores a three-pointer from half court. And then

later on in the game, the buzzer beater, he hits from three quarters of the court effortlessly.

It looks like he just threw it up in the air. And I remember being, sitting there and being like,

man, I wish I had that raw natural talent, right? I wish that I had the ability to just like

basically throw the ball in the air. And it was like a magnet was drawing it into the hoop, right?

That's what I wish I had because that's awesome. That is fantastic, right? And it's so fun to watch.

But then as I read this book, Kent Hughes immediately points to Steph Curry as a great

example. He says this, the glory of Steph Curry, Steph Curry's three-point shot that wins a

basketball game at the buzzer beater is the apex of a life of inglorious discipline. It is common

knowledge that Curry practices in the off season for three hours a day. So the off season, six days

a week in the summer.

It is also well known that after the elaborate preparation, he will shoot between 600 and 700

baskets, counting only the one he makes. And on intense shooting days, this number increases

to be at least a thousand. And so the argument that Kent Hughes makes here is that we get to see

this, the beautiful outcome of that, right? With Steph Curry, who just seems like he just effortlessly

ball and difficult shots and it goes in, right? But we don't get to see the hours and hours and

hours, the thousands and thousands and thousands of shots every week that goes into training that

which is normal for him. He puts hours and hours and hours and hours of intense time into making

a made shot, his new normal, a disciplined life. And so Kent Hughes elaborates a little later on in

He says this, the word discipline may raise the feeling of doltifying constraint in some minds,

suggesting a claustrophobic, restricted life. Nothing could be further from the truth. Brothers

in Christ, spiritual discipline frees us from the gravity of the present age and allows us to soar

with the saints and angels. And so what he says here is he has the freedom to make hard shots look

easy because he lives.

A disciplined life when no one is watching. That has to be our approach to love. A disciplined

love. The way that love becomes easy in difficult situations is when you live a life of disciplined

love. When you put intense focus and time into reading your Bible and pursuing a love like

Christ. Paul calls this kind of love a transformation for us because it's not our normal.

And so what he calls us to is live in a way that actively pursues these things so it becomes so

disciplined, it becomes so natural that we have the freedom to be loving and kind people in the

midst of a time that would really make it impossible. That we could take time and love

people in situations where it feels impossible to love them because we've lived a life disciplined

in pursuing these things which are not natural to us. Never lacking in zeal, keeping spiritual fervor,

serving the Lord, joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer, clinging to what

is good, devoted to one another, honoring one another above ourselves. That we could love in

ways that are unnatural. Why? Because we are disciplined and we have been transformed through

the power of Christ.

It's freedom in the difficulty because it has become second nature to us. And so love has to

become that second nature response especially when it's difficult. And we see this is the picture of

Christ, right? That he went to the cross, he died on the cross, and even on the cross he says,

forgive them Lord they know not what they do. That's a different kind of love. He dies, he

sat in Romans 10. If you confess with your mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord and believe in your heart

that he's risen from the dead, you will be saved. And that salvation is offered to us because of

the unnatural love of Christ. And so we continue. Paul highlights again and again this reality

continuing in verse 14. The contrary to what we have always known. Verse 14, bless those who persecute you and do

not curse. Bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice. Mourn with those who mourn.

Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud but be willing to associate with the people of

low position. Do not be conceited. Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is

right in the eyes of everyone. And so here we see transformation is acting contrary to how

the world tells you. And in this case it means a sympathy and a willingness to care for those

for the sake of the gospel. I love how this passage comes right out of that 12, 1 through 3

passage because Paul says, right, do not be conformed to the ways of this world. And so he

highlights, right, this transformation. You are going to have to look different than those around

you and to the ways that you've always lived. And so here he plays that out, right?

Bless those who persecute you. That is so contrary to what the world tells you. If someone is attacking

you, go and attack them back. If someone is harming you, blow them up. That's what our world says. If

you are coming under fire, make sure you fire right back. But Paul says, no, you have to be transformed.

Instead, when you come under fire, bless them. Bless them. When you're persecuted, when you're

cursed at, when you're being attacked, right, that is the time when you need to love the most

to bless. Or verse 15, right? Rejoice with those who rejoice. Our world paints a very competitive

world, right? Especially in our jobs. There's a competition, right? A vying for each other. Who can

who can make the most money? Who can have the most power? Who can have the most authority? Who can do

these things? And so when someone else gets a promotion or a raise over you and you're stuck

there, you're going to have to make the most money. You're going to have to make the most money. You're

What is your first inclination? To be jealous. To paint them as your rival. To want to tear them

down. To want to use that as a stepping stone for yourself. But Paul says here, rejoice with those

who rejoice. See, that puts it in a different perspective, right? A lot of times when we think

about that passage, we think like a birthday party, right? Like, oh, you know, when someone's

celebrating their birthday, it's our job to celebrate alongside of them. And I'm sure Paul

would be like, yes, right? That would be the case. Yes, you should celebrate alongside of them.

Celebrate one another. But what he is talking about is when it's difficult. When people are

getting recognition and you aren't, and they're celebrating that and they're happy, that's a time

when you should rejoice with them. Even though it hurts. Even though it stings. Because that's

loving them well. And a lot of times they had nothing to do with the reason you're hurting.

Or the continuing of that. Mourn with those who mourn. A lot of times when we think about

faith, we want to talk about how faith is just a resolution for every negative

emotion that we feel. This week in our growth community where we're talking about

Lazarus, Jesus, raising Lazarus from the dead. And there's this moment, right, where Jesus knows

that he's going to raise Lazarus from the dead. And he gets there and Lazarus has been dead and

there's people around him weeping. And instead of Jesus looking and saying, hey guys, I'm here to

fix the problem. Hey guys, stop crying. Stop mourning. It's not a big deal. I'll take care of it.

He keeps with them. A lot of times we can have the tendency when someone is hurting to just try and

give them a blanket solution for that hurt. That's not always the solution. Yes, we preach the truth

and the love and the comfort and encouragement that comes from God's word. But more times than

not, what people need is for us to simply hurt with them. To mourn with those who mourn. And that's

contrary to what we want to do. We want to fix. We don't want people to hurt. We don't want to do

these things. But the reality is, we don't want to do these things. We don't want to do these things.

The reality comes from, we cannot fix it. We are not healer. Christ is. Verse 16, live in harmony

with one another. Seems simple, right? But then when you look at society right now, I think all of us

would, harmony would be the last way we would classify society right now. And so when everyone

is at each other's throats, when everyone is fighting, when everyone is tearing one another

down, we are the ones that are called to be loving all. Harmonious.

And specifically, harmonious with each other. When the rest of the world is at each other's throats,

many times people look at the church and they see the church at each other's throats.

We as the church have to be people who we are classified as people in harmony with one another.

That we think the best. We believe the best. That we aren't proud. That we are willing to associate

with all people. That we don't think of ourselves as high and mighty above the rest. That we deal

with our hard problems. Do not repay.

Evil for evil, but be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone.

And that verse 17 leads into verse 18, which I want to talk about in a second, but that I think

is an even more controversial statement, right? Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Man, we love

vengeance. And how do we classify vengeance? Justice in our minds, right? Oh, I just want

to see them get theirs. That's justice. No, that's vengeance in your heart. You are not judged.

What you want is you want evil to be repaid with evil. I remember one of the things that my mom,

when I was young, she had a group of ladies who she would meet with really regularly. And one of

the questions that they would go through each week to kind of hold one another accountable is like,

have you wished misfortune on someone this week? And I remember my mom telling me, she's like,

I struggle with that.

Every single week. I said, mom, that doesn't seem very much like you, right? Like if you know my mom,

she's like the kindest, sweetest lady ever. And so like, you're wishing misfortune on people. And

she goes, driving, right? It's vengeance in her heart. She goes, every time someone speeds by me

or cuts me off, I just wish that a cop would pull out and pull them over right then and there.

And I said, well, mom, that sounds like the right thing. That seems like justice. And she goes,

no, that's misfortune. I want to

see them punished. Not because it's what's right, but simply because I want to feel vengeance. I want

to feel vindicated. I said, mom, you are so smart. I love you so much, right? Like, because there is

such truth and goodness in that. And then it continues, be careful to do what is right in the

side, in the eyes of everyone, right? In our minds, if we, if we do something and someone doesn't like

it, we oftentimes say to ourselves, well, that's their problem, right? If they have a problem with

me, that's their problem. If they have a problem with me, that's their problem. If they have a

problem with me, that's their problem. But Paul says here, he says, no, that is not how Christ

operates. We don't compromise our morals. We don't compromise truth. But if, if we can, we will live

in a way that is honoring and shows honor that people look at us and see us as people of integrity,

even when they disagree with us, even when they don't like that as true, they will see that we

are consistent and that we do things in a way that we don't like. And so I said, well, that's

right. And that is so difficult to do because everyone has different ideas of what that looks

like. And so that's why I say, we don't compromise truth. We don't compromise the morals that God has

called us to holiness. But a lot of times there are plenty of things that we do outside of those

things that tick people off or treat people terribly and they're hurt. And we say that it's

their problem. Paul says, be careful, be careful to do what is right and to be kind and to be

loving, be transformed. It means acting contrary to how the world tells you to live in a life of

sympathy and willingness to care for others for the sake of the gospel. Different, right? No caveat,

but to care for others, period. Even when it's not easy. One of the ones I always think about is,

I've already said it, but I hear it all the time. Oh, respect those who respect you, right? Only give

respect. That is so contrary to what Christ calls us to. That's so contrary to what the word of God

says. It sounds good, right? We want our kids to stand up for themselves at school. And so we tell

them that. And there's a difference. There's a big difference, right? In standing up for yourselves

and giving respect. Christ always gave respect, always gave respect. When he was beaten, chased out of town,

hung on a cross, respected. If we're going to be people who live like Christ, are conformed,

not to the image of the world, but conformed to the image of Christ, we have to be people

who show respect in all situations. Sometimes that means standing up for what is unrighteous,

but many times it means being kind, even when people aren't deserving of kindness. So then we

continue. Verse 18, one of my favorite verses, because it's one of the ones that kicks me in the

says this, if it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take

revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God's wrath. For it is written, it is mine to avenge,

I will repay, says the Lord. On the contrary, if your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him

something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but

with good. Transformation means going to great lengths to make sure you demonstrate the grace

and love of Christ. Transformation means going to great lengths to make sure you demonstrate

the grace and love of Christ, especially to those who don't deserve it. When I was in college,

specifically my first year of college, I was incredibly antagonistic, and I was

incredibly stubborn. I would dig my heels in, I would plant my flag, and I would die on any hill

that someone disagreed with me on. And I'll say the stubbornness still plagues me, but I've become

far less antagonistic. And it's because of verse 18. And I came across it when I was in that first

year of college, and I was just so incredibly convicted. Because I was a person who loved the

world, and I loved to just fight and fight and fight and fight and fight. That was me. And I came

across verse 18 where he says, if it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with

everyone. Man, there are so many times these days where that verse plays through my mind. It just

feels like it's stuck on repeat. A lot of times it's just the Holy Spirit convicting me, and I'll

say it's a lot when I'm driving.

Right? Because there's times where I'm like, I want to just like break check this person, you know, or I

want to, you know, I want to keep them stuck behind me and another person, or whatever it is. I'm going

to drive as slow as possible on this one lane, because they're tailing me as hard as they possibly

can. And I look and say, is that living at peace? Or is that antagonistic? Think about it when it

comes to me talking with people who disagree with me. In that conversation, am I a person who's

seeking to antagonize and hurt? Time and time again, it runs through my mind. How I interact

with family, how I interact with friends, how I interact with my wife, how I interact with

co-workers, how I interact with all these different people. This verse, verse 18, goes

through my mind. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Am I

doing whatever possible to be a peacemaker, someone who seeks peace? Or am I struggling

up controversy? Am I creating hurt? Am I producing strife and division? And I think about just the

reality of that, because a lot of times, that means a sacrificing of ourselves. I think that's

why Paul starts off chapter 12 with saying, hey, you're going to have to present your bodies as a

living sacrifice. It's going to take from you a little bit. Doesn't always mean you get what you

want, or you get the resolution you want, because guess what? It's the resolution that Christ wants.

Peace. Peace that is produced by you and your pursuit of God. Living like this is living

sacrificially. It's uncomfortable, contrary to how we normally would act. But what he says here is,

do your absolute best to live at peace with people. Now, once again, not compromising truth,

not compromising our holiness, not compromising God's word. God's word produces love. God's word

produces transformation in us, and it's not just about us. It's about us. It's about us.

It begins to produce it in others. So a lot of times we think, you know, oh, it's someone else's

fault. They're in the wrong. And so whatever our reaction is, is reasonable. But here what Paul

says is, live contrary. Regardless of their actions, your actions should pursue peace.

And he continues, right? He elaborates on that in these later, in this later part, right? 19.

Don't take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God's wrath. For it is written, it is mine to

avenge. I will repay, says the Lord. Do not put yourself in the seat of judge. Do not put yourself

in the seat of judge, jury, executioner, because in reality, that's not your seat, and you don't

want that seat, if we're being honest. And so Paul says, and on the contrary, which is basically

everything that he's been saying, on the contrary, if your enemy is hungry, feed them. If he is

hungry, feed them. If he is hungry, feed them. If he is hungry, feed them. If he is hungry, feed them.

Good. You're combating it with other stuff. Maybe it's not all evil. Maybe you're not going evil for

evil, but you're trying to just beat them into the ground as much as they're beating you into the

ground. Or you're trying to numb yourself to them, to kind of just keep them at arm's length, to keep

them at a distance. What Paul says here is, the true way to overcome evil, the true way to overcome

sin, the true way to overcome that which those people who are making themselves your enemy, is to

love them and be good to them.

Good to them. Remember at the beginning of this message when I said it was going to be a hard one?

It's a hard one, right? It's easy to say. All this stuff is easy to say. All this stuff is easy to

talk about. And a lot of times it's noble for talking about. You get, oh, this person says that

they love their enemy, love their enemy, love their enemy. But in practicality, what it takes

is a disciplined love. Loving is easy, except when it's not. Seems like a foolish saying,

but it's the reality of what Paul is saying. We have to

live contrary, transformed, and our love has to be that which is transformed. And so the

question I'm going to leave you with is maybe different than one that you think would come

from this passage. The question I want to leave you with is, what needs to change in order that

you demonstrate the love of Christ well this week? A lot of you may think the question will be,

you know, how will you demonstrate Christ's love this week? Or,

will you demonstrate Christ's love this week? And I think a majority of the people in this room

would say, yes, oh yeah, yeah, I'm willing to do that. But the reality is, if you haven't yet,

then something needs to change, right? It's like the age-old office quote where he just walks

outside and says, I declare bankruptcy, right? And they look and say, well, how did anything

change? Well, a lot of times what Christians do is they get pumped up on the Word of God,

and they walk out the doors and they say, like, I declare I'm going to be a

loving person. What does that mean? How is that lived out? What has to change for you to live

that way? And so that's where this question comes from. What needs to change in order for you to

demonstrate the love of Christ well? Maybe it's a practice. Maybe you got to wake up five minutes

early and take some time and pray and ask the Lord to help you love well at the start of your day,

so that your mind is set on a discipline of love. Maybe you need to change what

you're listening to in your car, because maybe it's a little bit too angry, and it's just fueling

the rage that comes from it. Maybe you need to ask your significant other, your spouse, and say,

hey, do you see anger in me? Do you feel like I love you well? How could I love you better? If you

can't love your spouse well, you are never going to be able to love your enemy well. What needs to

change in order for you to demonstrate the love of Christ well this week? Let's pray. Lord, we love you.

Lord, we are so incredibly thankful for your word. Lord, your word is oftentimes difficult for us to

live out. And Lord, I thank you for that. Lord, I thank you that you are transforming us, and that

that transformation process is so radically different from that which is the world, because

our world is so lost. Our world is so broken. Our world is so lacking peace and true kindness and

true love towards one another. Lord, I pray that this week we would really, really, really, really

reflect on the way that we love others, or maybe our lack of love for others. That we would maybe

take this passage in Romans 12 and just make it our motto of life right now. That we would love

people well. That we would honor people when they don't deserve it. We would associate with the

lowly. We would be fervent in prayer. We would be just ready to be zealous, to be all in when it

not sacrificing truth, not sacrificing your word, or holiness, or the things you call us to. But

instead, loving people well with the gospel. Lord, I am so incredibly thankful for the salvation that

you gave me. The love that you demonstrated. Lord, that you sought my forgiveness when my sin

marred your flesh. You died for me, and you loved me enough to give me salvation. Lord, and I pray

for each and every person in this room, that we would remember that truth, and that we would live

as a living, living, living person. Lord, I pray for each and every person in this room, that we

sacrifice transformed to not be conformed to the world, but instead be conformed to that image.

A love that sacrifices. Disciplined love. In your precious and holy name, Jesus' name. Amen.

Please stand as we sing one more song in worship.